Acceptance Part 2
by Danny vs A Month
Summary: Zoey and Angel continue their journey across the country to find a Sanctuary that was what it claimed to be. A new group of survivors and an old enemy. Just like old times. Hopefully for the last time. High T. possibly M later.


I do not own Left 4 Dead or any of the characters. This story will have considerably less sex in it than the last. In fact, I intend for this to stay high T rather than M. It may end up M anyway but for now it will be T.

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><p>Evac<p>

Angel stepped out of the building looked around. Zoey was standing a few feet off to the left and looking around carefully. It had been about a week or so since they had left the left the safe zone. Now, they were in a motel just off the side of the interstate and were surrounded by dozens of infected. Fortunately, it was just the basic kind for now. The infected had further mutated into things like half-formed tanks that would run their victims down then smash them into the ground, similar to a tank but much faster, things like hunters but more deformed and that would ride around on people's shoulders while clawing at their chests, and creatures that spit acid. There were also localized new kinds like clowns in the area they were in now that would attract small groups by honking their noses.

Angel hadn't shown any signs of regression since she became human with the exception that she was still able to tell when they were near a witch. She would be on edge and jumpy, much like she was now.

"Witch?" Zoey questioned.

"Yes," Angel nodded. "Close. Probably in or behind the motel."

Zoey nodded and they turned toward the motel just as a charger, the half-formed tank type, smashed out through a door and toward them. Before it could get there, or they could react, it tripped as it burst into flames. Zoey looked up as two men climbed down a ladder from the motel sign. One was wearing a dirty yet still nearly spotless white suit with a blue shirt underneath and the other white and blue ball cap, a dirty, grease-stained, faded yellow shirt, blue jeans, and a faded blue sweatshirt tied around his waist and hanging behind him. He had a Desert Eagle through a belt loop in his jeans and a grenade launcher hanging from his back on its frayed, almost broken strap. The man in the suit had a Desert Eagle in each hand and an assault shotgun slung across his back. Just as they both reached the ground, another man, an overweight African American man wearing a yellow and purple bowling shirt and khakis, stepped up to the ladder holding an assault rifle while an African American woman stepped up behind him holding a hunting rifle. She wore a hot-pink tee-shirt and blue jeans.

"You two okay?" the overweight man called as he and the girl climbed down the ladder.

"Yes," Angel replied. "Thanks to one of you I assume."

"That would be Rochelle and her amazing incendiary ammo," the man in the suit stated gesturing at the girl. "Name's Nick, I like to drink, gamble, and live."

"Rochelle," the girl greeted. "I produced news shows."

"Folks call me Ellis," the man with the ball cap stated. "I run an auto shop with a couple of my buddies. We're also in a band. I play bass."

"You can call me Coach," the overweight man stated. "Who are you?"

"My name's Zoey," Zoey greeted. "This is Angel. I'd tell you our back story but it would take too long. We need to leave. There's a witch nearby."

"How do you know?" Coach questioned.

"Angel can sense them, kind of," Zoey stated.

"How?" Nick questioned.

"Story for another time," Rochelle stated, being the only one to notice the apprehensive look on both other women's faces. "We should take their advice and get moving."

The others nodded and turned toward the motel.

"Not that way," Angel breathed. "She's that way."

"The highway's out," Coach stated. "We have to go this way. We'll find a way around but first we have to go past the motel, which means the witch."

Angel sighed but nodded and they all made their way through the motel rooms carefully, killing any infected they saw, grateful that infected didn't generally respond to gunshots. In the last upstairs room, they found a melee weapon stockpile. Ellis grabbed a baseball bat, Coach a crowbar, Nick a fire axe, Rochelle a machete, and Angel and Zoey both grabbed katanas. Once they all had their melee weapons, they looked to the bathroom and saw that the bathtub was full of ammo, there was spare grenade launcher ammo in the sink and a second grenade launcher beside it, and there were a dozen handguns. Zoey grabbed a pair of P220s with laser sights, Angel grabbed the extra grenade launcher, and the others reloaded their guns. They headed back outside and then around toward the back and Angel grew more agitated with each step.

"Keep the grenade launcher ready," Angel warned. "I can sense her. She's just ahead."

They all stopped when they reached the corner and saw bushes and trees creating a thick wall of dead foliage taller than they were. Something snapped inside it and three infected sprinted out of the bushes at them. Zoey and Angel stepped forward killing two then spun and together cut the third across the torso in two places leaving him in three pieces. Then, they retreated silently past Ellis as Ellis lifted the grenade launcher and the witch stepped out of the bushes, slowly looking up at them. Ellis squeezed the trigger and the grenade sailed through the air at the witch, hitting her directly in the chest and launched her backward into the bushes. After a couple seconds, the bushes split and a pair of tanks walked out of it, hands brushing over the grass but not supporting the tanks like most did. The tanks parted and then crossed their arms like massively over-sized bouncer at a zombie club. then, the bushes parted again as not one, but four witches walked out, standing in front of the two tanks before the witch Ellis had shot stepped out of the bushes.

"Five!?" Nick breathed. "And two tanks!?"

"Fuck," Zoey breathed. "How?"

The witch Ellis had shot, who had a large hole in her stomach and was missing her left arm grinned and stepped aside, kneeling as a sixth stepped out. This one, however, not only had no visible injuries but was painfully familiar.

"You gave it a good try Zoey, Angel," the witch grinned pulling her hair aside on the right side of her head and turning it so that they could all see the bullet hole Zoey had personally placed there. "Shame witches don't die so easily. As you can see, I've been recruiting again. Don't worry though, there are no hunters this time. They were never helpful enough. Butch, please relieve him of his grenade launcher."

Ellis, who had been trying to reload his gun while panicking, looked up as a tank charged forward and shoved Zoey, Angel, Nick, and Coach aside then grabbed the grenade launcher and crushed it before jumping back to his place, clearing the witches by pushing off with his arms.

"This isn't going to end well is it?" Zoey growled standing.

"No," Angel replied.

"How is that witch talking, controlling tanks and witches, and how the hell does it know you two?" Nick demanded.

"It's a different breed and it knows us because it is targeting Angel and I shot her in the head," Zoey stated. "Part of the long story you'll hear eventually."

"No, you won't," the witch sneered. "I'll give you one and only one chance Angel. You may be human but I could still use you. Join me, or I tear Zoey apart."

"You'll do that anyway and you know I'm not joining you again," Angel growled.

"But we had so much fun before," the witch snickered. "And we both know you enjoyed it as much as me. You were the best I ever had."

"Then you lost out," Angel growled drawing her grenade launcher and fired at the witch.

The other five all jumped in front of her, however, and the blast killed the wounded one and two more and removed bits and pieces of the other two leaving them with one hand each and chunks missing from their torsos. The tanks both charged instantly as Angel gave the grenade launcher to Ellis and drew her katana as she and Zoey stepped forward and slashed the tanks knees. one plus side of being on the streets for as long as Angel and Zoey had been was that they had gotten good at fighting. Tanks were easy to kill when they couldn't move. Following that train of thought, the next things Angel and Zoey removed were the arms before they turned around and charged at the three witches. As they left the two tanks, Nick planted his axe in one's face, killing it, and Coach drove his crowbar into the other's. the two wounded witches both attacked Zoey and Angel, keeping them largely on the defensive despite their wounds. Rochelle arrived to help, managing to decapitate one surprised witch before the other managed to slash her right thigh. Angel pulled Rochelle away from the witch while Zoey kept it busy and the last began to leisurely stroll forward. Finally Zoey leapt away from the two and Ellis planted a grenade in the ground between the witches. The already wounded one was killed but the leader that Zoey and Angel knew so well had seen him aim and darted out of the way of the blast, coming to rest diagonally to his right with her claws to his throat.

"Such a shame," the witch sneered. "Not even smart enough to know when to admit defeat."

Before she could do anything, Angel severed her wrist then slashed at her, carving a deep gash in her side as the witch leapt away from her, screaming in rage and pain.

"Leave Lilith," Angel ordered. "If you stay, we'll kill you, this time for real."

Lilith growled in anger but turned and fled into the bushes. Zoey sighed and looked at the others who all looked at Angel like she was either a goddess or Satan himself. After a moment, they all stood and continued, bushing through the bushes and coming out at the top of a very steep drop with several ledges jutting out and probably a dozen or more infected at the bottom. Ellis blasted the group with the grenade launcher and they descended the hill as Rochelle took out any approaching infected with her rifle. Finally they reached the ground and made their way through the riverbed they were in for a ways before finding a clearing in the trees and brush leading up the far side and forming a path. Angel and Zoey both hurled a Molotov into the bushes on either side at the top of the hill and the flames quickly spread through the trees, burning a dozen infected while leaving the path relatively safe. They all took a quick dunk in the water before they sprinted up the path, the water keeping them from spontaneously combusting, though the heat was till unbearable. Finally they reached the top and found themselves in the parking lot of the entrance to the Whispering Oaks theme park.

"Whispering Oaks?" Zoey spoke up before looking around at the fifty-some infected around them.

"There was going to be a rock concert, best light show in the business," Ellis stated. "We figured we could use that to signal a rescue copter."

"Where are you heading?" Angel questioned.

"The Sanctuary just a little way from here," Coach stated.

"What a coincidence," Zoey smiled. "So are we. Feel like gaining two more sets of hands?"

"Not at all," Ellis smiled.

"So long as we hear your story inside that safe house," Nick stated gesturing at the Whispering Oaks entrance.

"Deal," Angel nodded. "Let's get-"

A car alarm suddenly began screaming out into the night, answered instantly with the cry of hundreds of zombies. Angel groaned and they all drew their melee weapons, sprinting through the parking lot toward the safe house, passing the car with the sounding alarm and Nick gave it a good kick to shut off the alarm as he passed it. The attracted horde swarmed them as they neared the door but they formed a tight circle, bludgeoning or slashing anything that came in range of them as they slowly made their way to the door then through it one by one. Once the last one was in, Angel slammed the door and Zoey bolted it then they all began piling anything heavy they could find against it. Finally they finished and all sat down, breathing heavily and all unbelievably happy that they hadn't had to stay outside much more. They were coated in blood, pieces of flesh, and pieces of clothing. After a moment, Angel began to tend to Rochelle's wounded leg while Zoey told their story.

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><p>Read and review. Like I said, this story will be T rather than the M most people were undoubtedly expecting after the last one. Anyway, let me know what you think.<p> 


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